Lamp socket



Aug. 4, 1942. w, R, YOUNG 2,292,190

LAMP SOCKET Filed July 24, 1941 Fi I.

Inventor": William' R-Youn g, b g His Attorney.

Patented Aug. 4, 1942 LAMP SOCKET William R. Young, Fair-field, Conn, assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application July 24, 1941, Serial No. 403,877

3 Claims.

My invention relates to lamp sockets and more particularly to lamp sockets for double ended tubular discharge lamps, such as fluorescent lamps, of the type now in commercial use.

It is an object of my invention to provide a new and improved lamp socket for fluorescent lamps of the type described which supports each end of the lamp and holds it securely in position.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a new and improved form of lamp socket in which the number and arrangement of parts is such that it may be manufactured at low cost.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. l is a view of a fluorescent lamp supported at each end by a lamp socket constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a front view of the lamp socket; Fig. 3 is a rear view of the interior of the lamp socket; Fig. 4 is a sectional view through the lamp socket taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is an exploded view of the elements of the socket; and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of modified forms of the contact elements.

Referring to the drawing, I have shown a tubular discharge lamp, such as a fluorescent lamp |0, supported at each end in sockets II which in turn are mounted on a base l2 forming part of the reflecting surface of a lighting fixture. Each end of the lamp is provided with spaced contact prongs I3 which engage the lamp sockets in the manner shown by Fig. 2.

The lamp socket H is provided with a body of insulating material, such as a molded plastic, the body being formed with a base l4 and an extended portion l5 projecting upwardly about the base. One face of the extension [5 is provided with an elongated slot Hi which extends to an edge of the housing and which is adapted to receive the lamp contact pins as the pins are moved in a straight line transversely to the axis of the lamp. A lamp socket of this general type is described in Patent 2,248,598 issued to Joe Yoder on July 8, 1941, and assigned to the same assignee as the instant application. My invention is in the nature of an improvement over the lamp socket disclosed in the Yoder patent.

The other face of the extension is provided with a recess ll which receives spaced fixed contact members l3 and I9. These contact mem bers are identical and may be punched from sheet metal of good electrical conductivity. Each contact member is formed with projections 20 extending from opposite sides thereof. Each contact member is also provided with a V-shaped contact pin engaging recess 2| in an end face.

The contact |8 fits in a slot 22 formed adjacent the recess [1 while the projections 20 are seated in grooves 23 formed in opposite walls of the slot. When the contact member is in seated position, the pin engaging recess 2| is substantially flush with the wall of the guide slot l6, as shown by Fig. 2. Electrical connection to the contact member is made through the medium of a conducting member 26, which may conveniently be formed of wire, and which is seated in a channel 21 formed in the socket housing. At one end, the conducting member 25 is secured in any suitable manner, as by spot welding, to the contact 20, while the other end is secured in a similar manner to a terminal plate 28. The plate 28 rests in grooves .29 formed in opposite walls of a recess 38 and is provided with a terminal screw 3| which is disposed within the recess. It will be apparent that the contact structure just described may be assembled into a unit and then slipped into the socket housing in seated position.

Contact member i9 is seated in a slot 32 which merges with the recess ll but is spaced from the slot 22 which receives the contact member l8. In seated position, the projections 20 rest in slots 33 so that the contact is held securely in position flush with the wall of the elongated guide slot it. An electrical connection is made to the contact is by a conducting member 36 conveniently formed of wire and which rests in a channel 3? formed in the rear face of the housing. One end of the conducting member 36 is connected in any suitable manner, as by spot welding, to the contact member l9 while the other end is secured in a similar way to a terminal plate 38. The terminal plate is mounted in spaced grooves 39 formed in the opposite walls of a recess 46 and the plate is provided with a terminal screw 4| located in recess 46.

In mounted position, the contact members l8 and I9 are spaced apart a distance corresponding to the spacing of the lamp contact pins. Since the contact members are substantially flush with one wall of the guide slot, as shown by Fig. 2, the edge of the slot might interfere with seating of the lamp pins in the V-shaped slots 2| were it not for the fact that the wall of the slot is indented, as shown at 42, at points adjacent the contact members so that the lamp pins are free to enter the slots 2|.

In order to hold the lamp contact pins in good electrical engagement with the contact members l8 and IS, a plate of insulating material 43 is disposed within the recess [1 and is biased into engagement with the lamp pins by an arcuate spring 44 likewise seated in the recess l1. Opposite ends of the plate 43 are provided with projections 45 which rest in grooves 45 formed in opposite walls of the recess H. The projections 45 cooperate with the walls of the grooves 46 and prevent the spring from moving the plate completely against the contact members [8 and l 9 so that a small space is left between the plate and contact members to facilitate insertion of the lamp pins between the plate and the contact members. Insertion of the lamp contact pins into this space is further facilitated by a curved edge 41 formed on the upper end of the plate. The contact assembly and the biasing plate are held in assembled position in the housing by means of a cover plate 48 of insulating material which is secured to the back of the housing in any suitable manner, as by screws 49.

A modified form of contact arrangement is shown by Fig. 6 in which the conducting members 26 and 38 are provided with integrally formed contact surfaces at their upper ends to engage the lamp pins. To this end, the conducting member 26 is bent at an angle at its upper end, as indicated at 50, to form a contact surface which, in turn, is provided with a recessed portion for receiving the lamp pin. The end of the conducting member projects outwardly adjacent the contact surface as shown at 52. When the contact is seated in position in the socket body, the projection 52 rests in the groove 23 to center the contact surface in seated position. Similarly, the conducting member 35 is provided at the upper end with an offset portion 53 formed with a lamp pin receiving recess 54 and a projecting end 55, the arrangement being such that when the contact is mounted in the socket body, the projection 55 rests in the groove 33 to hold the contact surface in seated position. The advantages of the one-piece constructions just described are that the additional pieces of material comprising the contacts I! and I 8 are eliminated as well as the welding operations necessary to fasten the contacts to the conducting members.

In mounting the lamp, the lamp contact pins are moved in a straight line transversely to the axis of the lamp into the elongated slot l6. As the pins enter the space between the contact members and plate, the plate is moved sidewise against the action of the spring I! so that the pins are guided into engagement with the spaced contact members I8 and i 9. The plate- 42 engages the contact pins and forces them into good electrical connection with the contact members in seated position in the V-shaped slots.

My construction effects a considerable saving in cost since the contact members [8 and 19, which are made of relatively expensive material of good electrical conductivity, are constructed as small inserts rather than as contact blades as such contacts have been heretofore manufactured. Any small low cost conducting members are then used to electrically connect the contacts to the terminals,

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A socket for use with lamps having spaced contact pins comprising, in combination, a housing of insulating material, contact members carried by said housing for engaging the pins of the lamp, said contact members being mounted in axial alignment at different distances from an edge of the housing and being spaced apart a distance corresponding to the spacing of the lamp pins, means in said housing for guiding the lamp pins in straight line movement into engagement with the contact members and insulating means opposite each contact member and being biased into engagement with the lamp pins for clamping the pins between the contact members and the insulating means.

2. A socket for use with lamps having spaced contact pins, comprising, in combination, a housing of insulating material, contact members carried by said housing for engaging the pins of the lamp, said contact members being mounted in axial alignment at different distances from an edge of the housing and being spaced apart a distance corresponding to the spacing of the lamp pins, means in said housing for guiding the lamp pins in straight line movement into engagement with the contact members, a member of insulating material movably mounted in said housing and spring means biasing said movable member into engagement with the lamp pins to clamp them between the contact members and said insulating member.

3. A socket for use with lamps having spaced contact pins comprising, in combination, a housing of insulating material having an elongated slot in a face extending to an edge thereof for receiving the lamp pins as the latter are moved in a straight line transversely to the axis of the lamp, contact members in said slot spaced apart a'distance corresponding to the spacing of the lamp pins, a member of insulating material slidably mounted in said housing and facing said contact members and means biasing the member into engagement with the lamp pins to clamp them between the contact members and said insulating member.

WILLIAM R. YOUNG. 

